Scottish Executive

Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for delay in implementing the parts of the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003 that allow tenant farmers the right to buy.

Ross Finnie: We are currently consulting on draft regulations and orders which should be laid before the Parliament later this year. These are required to implement the remainder of the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003 and, in particular, the pre-emptive right to buy for eligible tenants and general partners within a limited partnership that is the tenant.

  This secondary legislation covers a number of detailed but important issues – such as how farms are to be valued where more than one tenant on an estate wishes to exercise a right to buy, and how the right to buy should apply to general partners where the tenant is a limited partnership – which required careful consideration with key stakeholders.

  Subject to the will of Parliament I hope to be able to bring part 2 of the act into force towards the turn of the year.

Air Transport

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many direct air links are available from Scotland to the EU accession states and how many new links to these states are being discussed or developed.

Nicol Stephen: Scotland has an established direct air link between Edinburgh and Prague, with a further service to the Czech capital commencing in the autumn from Glasgow. The Executive, through the Route Development Fund, will consider any approach by an airline to commence services to the EU accession states. The detail of any discussions including possible destinations is, however, commercially confidential.

Arts

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what agreements it has made in respect of the promotion of Scottish arts abroad.

Mr Frank McAveety: The Scottish Executive actively supports the international promotion of Scottish arts and culture, working through its cultural non-departmental public bodies. In 2003, significant financial support was given to help showcase Scotland’s living cultural traditions in a major programme within the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and the Executive also contributed funding to the first independent presentation of Scotland’s contemporary visual arts, Zenomap , at the Venice Biennale. In partnership with the Lighthouse Scottish Architecture has been promoted abroad at a number of international events, including Venice’s Architecture Biennale. The successful "Scotland In" events, along with a rolling programme of international promotions undertaken by the Executive with a range of partners, serve to showcase the uniqueness and high quality of this country’s cultural output. Where our co-operation agreements include cultural objectives, they provide a framework for exchanging good practice and encouraging international partnerships. Recognising the importance of this area and building upon successful joint initiatives, the Scottish Arts Council and The British Council Scotland have recently appointed a Head of International Art who will deliver a strategy for promoting Scotland’s arts abroad.

Autism

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether an education authority can refuse to deliver year-round education when schools are closed where an autistic child needs such education.

Peter Peacock: Education authorities have to operate within the legislative framework of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 and the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000.

  The 1980 act requires them to secure adequate and efficient provision of school education for their area and this includes provision for special educational needs. In fulfilling that duty, it has been prescribed that schools must be open for at least 190 days. The 2000 act gives every school age child the right to be provided with school education and that education provided to a child or young person must be directed towards developing the child to their fullest potential.

  There is no specific requirement in the framework to provide year-round education. It is for local authorities to determine how they discharge their statutory responsibilities and, in particular, the nature, extent and timing of the provision they make for the special educational needs of an individual child.

Autism

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether an autistic child’s needs under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 are separate from, and in addition to, any educational need.

Peter Peacock: The Children (Scotland) Act 1995, The Education (Scotland) Act 1980 and the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000 are all part of the legislative framework that a local authority has to operate within.

  The 1995 act places duties upon the local authority with respect to children who are in need. The 1980 act places duties upon the local authority as education authority with respect to children in their area who have pronounced, specific or complex special educational needs and who require continuing review and to open and maintain a record of needs.

  The way the different acts interplay and apply to individual children will depend upon the facts and circumstances of that child. However, statutory guidance on the 1995 act expects that whenever a range of services are provided by the local authority that there is co-ordination and communication between the service providers.

Autism

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what minimum standards for the development and implementation of individualised educational programmes for children with autism are provided as part of guidelines that it issues.

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the provision of minimum standards for the development and implementation of individualised educational programmes (IEPs) would enhance the quality of IEPs being developed and implemented for children with autism.

Peter Peacock: The Manual of Good Practice in Special Educational Needs identifies the key features of effective practice in developing Individualised Educational Programmes (IEPs) for children and young people with special educational needs, including autism. The manual can be viewed at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/health/gpsenm-00.asp.

  In addition, the Scottish Executive has funded extensive training on the development and use of IEPs through the Success For All project. The handbook, developed as part of the project, contains guidance on the key principles for planning, designing and implementing IEPs and for setting appropriate targets. The handboook and more information and guidance on IEPs can be found on the Learning and Teaching Scotland website at http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/inclusiveeducation/.

Autism

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish, or place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, any "model" of what is an acceptable standard of individualised educational programme for an autistic child.

Peter Peacock: The handbook accompanying the Scottish Executive’s Success For All  project contains an example of the possible content of an IEP and can be found at http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/inclusiveeducation/ . The targets set in the IEP were compiled using the elaborated curriculum frameworks and autism specific approaches. In addition, the Learning and Teaching Scotland website contains several case studies.

Autism

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children with autism are receiving year-round educational support, including when schools are closed, broken down by local authority.

Peter Peacock: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Autism

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to ensure that year-round education is available to all children with autism who require it.

Peter Peacock: Education authorities do not have a duty to provide year-round education to any pupils. It is for local authorities to determine how they discharge their statutory responsibilities and, in particular, the nature, extent and timing of the provision they make for the special educational needs of an individual child.

Autism

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will measure the quality of educational services provided to children with autism and what guidance it has given to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education regarding carrying out inspections and reviews of such services.

Peter Peacock: As part of the normal process of inspection, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) consider the adequacy of provision for special educational needs, including that for autism. The Scottish Executive has commissioned HMIE to conduct a specific inspection of educational provision for autism across Scotland. This will take place over 2005-06 with some preliminary work starting later this year. It is a matter for the professional judgement of HMIE to determine how they conduct inspections. Further information on current procedures is available at www.hmie.gov.uk .

Autism

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to establish minimum statutory standards for student teachers working with, and educating, children with autism.

Peter Peacock: The Quality Assurance in Initial Teacher Education document establishes a comprehensive and unitary set of benchmark statements which are the requirements of each programme of initial teacher education in Scotland. This is the standard for initial teacher education in Scotland.

  The standard for ITE also sets a series of key principles and covers the curriculum, education systems and professional responsibilities, principles and perspectives, teaching and learning, classroom organisation and management, individual pupil assessment and professional values and personal commitment.

  One of the benchmarks on teaching and learning sets the expectation that student teachers can demonstrate the ability to identify and respond appropriately to pupils with difficulties in, or barriers to, learning, including autism and can recognise when to seek further advice in relation to their special educational needs.

Cancer

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12417 by Susan Deacon on 30 March 2001, what the median waiting times for all forms of cancer were in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board; what the reasons were for longer than average waiting times in any boards where patients waited for longer than the average median time, and what plans there are to reduce waiting times in all boards, in particular those where the waiting time is above average.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-9562 on 1 September 2004. The median waiting times for in-patient and day case cancer treatment, by NHS board area of residence, during the last five years, is given in the following table.

  £25 million is being invested annually to support implementation of Cancer in Scotland. Investment plans concentrate on building capacity aimed at meeting waiting times targets and NHS Quality Improvement Scotland standards. Detailed plans are published at www.cancerinscotland.scot.nhs.uk.

  An additional £1 million is also committed over three years to underpin the redesign of cancer services through the Cancer Service Improvement Programme.

  NHSScotland: Median Waiting Times for Hospital In-Patient and Day Case Admission for Treatment on Cancer1 by NHS Board of Residence

  

 
Median Wait (days)


NHS Board
Year Ended
31 Mar 2000
Year Ended
31 Mar 2001
Year Ended
31 Mar 2002
Year Ended
31 Mar 2003
Year Ended
31 Mar 2004P


Argyll and Clyde
10
10
9
9
9


Ayrshire and Arran
12
14
10
11
11


Borders
8
10
11
13
11


Dumfries and Galloway
15
14
14
13
12


Fife
13
14
13
12
13


Forth Valley
11
11
12
13
13


Grampian
7
9
6
6
6


Greater Glasgow
12
13
10
11
11


Highland
9
12
11
10
11


Lanarkshire
10
11
10
9
9


Lothian
15
15
15
15
15


Orkney
7
7
7
6
7


Shetland
8
11
7
6
6


Tayside
19
18
18
15
14


Western Isles
9
9
7
8
12


NHSScotland
12
13
11
11
11



  Source: ISD Scotland.

  PProvisional.

  Notes: 1. Cancer as defined as ICD10 C00-C97 as main diagnosis.

Childcare

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to increase the number of, and remuneration for, safeguarders.

Euan Robson: The number and remuneration of safeguarders is a matter for local authorities to determine. In respect of remuneration COSLA issued guidance in 2002 to local authorities following discussion with the Scottish Safeguarder’s Association. I understand that the guidance covers the period 2003-06.

Childcare

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many spaces for children in secure units (a) have been available in each year since 1999 and (b) are estimated to be available in each year to 2007.

Cathy Jamieson: The table shows the number of spaces for children in secure units since 1999.

  

 
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05


Places
86
97
94
96
96
96
96



  When complete by 2007 the secure estate will consist of:

  Eighteen mixed at St Philip’s by end of 2005.

  Twelve girls only at Good Shepherd, by end of 2006.

  Eighteen boys only Kibble, by end of 2006.

  Twelve mixed at Kerelaw, by end of 2007.

  Eighteen mixed at Rossie, by end of 2007.

  Thirty-one Mixed in St Mary’s, existing unit.

  Twelve mixed in Edinburgh, existing unit.

  Four mixed in The Elms, existing unit.

  The work will be phased to ensure that there is no drop in availability below the current provision of 96 places.

Childcare

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children from each local authority have been placed in the young people’s unit as a result of the non-availability of foster accommodation in each month in each year since 1999.

Euan Robson: This is a matter for local authorities. The information requested is not held centrally.

Childcare

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what data are held in respect of supervision orders; how the success of such orders is monitored, and how an order is followed up and acted upon.

Euan Robson: Data on supervision requirements is held by the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration. More detail on the types of Supervision and outcomes for looked after children is given in the Children’s Social Work Statistics 2002-03 (ISSN 1479-7569) which was published by the Scottish Executive in October 2003.

  It is the statutory responsibility of local authorities to give effect to decisions made by Children’s Hearings. The success of measures contained in supervision requirements is reviewed at Children’s Hearings. In its role of ensuring the best possible value for money is achieved by councils, Audit Scotland looked at this area in 2002 and in 2003 conducted a follow up report Dealing with Offending by Young People; Audit Scotland also collect and publish information relating to statutory indicators on the performance of authorities in implementing decisions; more detail can be found on:

  http://www.accounts-commission.gov.uk/publications.

Childcare

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how often a child in need of a foster placement has been placed in an (a) secure unit and (b) young people’s unit as a result of a lack of available foster accommodation in each of the last five years.

Euan Robson: This is a matter for local authorities. The information requested is not held centrally.

Children with Special Needs

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether assessments for special educational needs carried out by educational psychologists are based on the needs of the child or resources available to the local authority; whether there are existing guidelines in respect of assessment for such needs and, if so, whether all local authorities are aware of such guidelines, and what steps it will take to ensure that assessments for special educational needs are based entirely on the needs of the child.

Peter Peacock: Assessments for special educational needs carried out by educational psychologists are based on the needs of the child. The Manual of Good Practice for all staff and professionals involved with children and young people with special educational needs; Effective Provision for Special Educational Needs (EPSEN); Circular 4/96: Children and Young People with SEN - Assessment and Recording;  and  The Parents’ Guide to Special Educational Needs  all provide guidelines and information on assessment for such needs.

  The Parents’ Guide to Special Educational Needs may be accessed at:

  http://www.childreninscotland.org.uk/enquire/pdf/Parents%20Guide04.pdf.

  The other documents are on the Scottish Executive website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Home. All these documents have been disseminated widely among local authorities.

  It is a matter for local authorities to determine that assessments for special educational needs are carried out appropriately. However, following the report of the review of psychological services, Quality Indicators for self evaluation of psychological services have been developed. In addition, HM Inspectorate of Education will include psychological services in their integrated services inspections from 2005.

Children's Hearings System

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the results of its Phase One consultation exercise on the review of the Children’s Hearings system.

Peter Peacock: The independent analysis report on the responses to the Phase One consultation exercise is being published today. The full report and a summary version are both being made available online on the Children’s Hearings website, www.childrens-hearings.co.uk .

  A copy of the summary report is also being sent to each of the 732 organisations and individuals who responded to the consultation exercise.

Dentistry

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS dentists were employed in (a) each NHS board area and (b) total in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on NHS staff employed by each NHS organisation is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce . Section A provides information on NHS hospital and community dentists and General Dental Service (GDS) broken down by NHS board. Table A1 provides information on all staff by Whole-Time Equivalent and Table A2 by Headcount.

Digital Inclusion

Alex Fergusson (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it defines "communities" in relation to its intention to bring broadband to all communities by the end of 2005.

Mr Jim Wallace: Through its broadband procurement, the Executive is seeking to ensure that there is access to affordable broadband services in every Scottish census output area (COA). This is an ambitious aspiration as COAs are the smallest geographic units used in the official census and the building blocks for the census’ higher order definitions of Scotland’s communities. An output area typically contains about 50 households.

Education

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-10060 by Peter Peacock on 13 September 2004, what educational standards require to be met by institutions providing educational services to local authorities.

Peter Peacock: Where education authorities arrange for educational services to be provided by institutions other than their schools, it is for them to specify and be satisfied with the educational standards offered.

Education

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to promote debating in schools as both a curricular and extra-curricular activity.

Peter Peacock: The National Guidelines on English Language 5-14 recommend that schools should provide structured and stimulating opportunities to use language with increasing precision in contexts appropriate to the needs of individuals and the world in which they live.

  In the later stages of secondary education, arrangements documents for National Qualifications courses in English emphasise the need to develop oral communication skills through, for example, presenting information and opinions and discussion of issues and texts.

  Debating is one of a number of ways of providing such opportunities. Ultimately, it is for local authorities and schools to decide on how to best meet the needs of their pupils.

Education

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what appeals procedure is available to parents who are in dispute with an education authority in respect of the delivery of their child’s year-round educational requirements.

Peter Peacock: I refer the member to question S2W-10843 answered on 4 October 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa .

  If a parent believes that an education authority is failing to discharge any of its duties under education legislation then they can make a complaint to Scottish ministers in terms of section 70 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. If Scottish ministers are satisfied that the education authority has failed to discharge any statutory duty relating to education then they may make an order declaring them to be in default in respect of that duty and requiring them, before a date stated in the order, to discharge that duty.

  If there is an allegation of negligent performance of any duties, whether common law or statutory, then recourse would be through the courts.

Education

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many pupils are benefiting from educational maintenance allowances, broken down by local authority.

Mr Jim Wallace: This information is not currently available. Arrangements are in place with the Executive’s delivery partners to collect management information on the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) national rollout. Provisional information on the number of students in each local authority area in receipt of EMA payments between August 2004 and January 2005 will be available in the spring of 2005. More complete information on the numbers of EMA recipients, amounts paid in both weekly payments and bonus payments as well as characteristics of EMA students will be published for the full academic year 2004-05 in the autumn of 2005. These data will be released in Scottish Executive National Statistics publications.

Education

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of educational maintenance allowances is expected to be in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05 and (c) 2005-06.

Mr Jim Wallace: Education Maintenance Allowances over the three years in question are estimated to cost:

  (a) 2003-04 £7.2 million (actual)

  (b) 2004-05 £16.6 million (estimated)

  (c) 2005-06 £28.4 million (estimated).

Enterprise

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review its policy on the provision of training grants to industry through Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Lewis Macdonald: Decisions on the support provided to industry for training, are made by the Enterprise Networks. The Framework for Economic Development in Scotland and A Smart, Successful Scotland set the context within which these decisions are made.

  An updated version of the Framework for Economic Development in Scotland was published in September 2004 and a refreshed version of A Smart, Successful Scotland will be published shortly.

  The enterprise networks currently provide support to industry for training through programmes such as modern apprenticeships, skillseekers and business learning accounts.

Environment

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-10264 by Allan Wilson on 17 September 2004, whether research expertise and knowledge available at the Hannah Institute in Ayrshire is suitable for development work on subjects such as the health consequences of obesity, in light of previous research in the field of animal fat reduction and into insulin resistance and mammary gland development.

Allan Wilson: The expertise and knowledge available at the Hannah Research Institute may be suitable for development in some areas of research.

  The draft strategy for agricultural, biological and related research identifies the key policy areas where the Scottish Executive will continue to fund relevant research.

Equal Pay

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources it has allocated to meeting its obligations under equal pay legislation in each of the last five years.

Mr Andy Kerr: Responsibility for pay matters in the Scottish Executive Main bargaining unit (SEM) rests with the Human Resources: Pay and Leave team. The need to ensure that the Executive meets its obligations under equal pay legislation underpins all of the team’s work.

  The Pay and Leave team can call on other areas of expertise within the Executive for assistance (for example, Solicitors Division provides advice on the legal aspects of equal pay and the Statistics team provided significant assistance with the completion of the Scottish Executive’s equal pay audits). Training on equal pay matters has been provided for staff in the Pay and Leave team who are responsible for the design of the SEM pay system. There are plans to extend this training to other areas of Human Resources and to other staff within the Executive who deal with pay matters.

Health

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce NHS one-stop treatment centres.

Malcolm Chisholm: Partnership for Care made clear that the way NHS services are provided must continually adapt to reduce waiting times and improve the quality of patient care. It is for NHS boards to determine how these improvements are best brought about. But NHS boards already have or plan to introduce a number of walk-in treatment centres. This includes Stracathro, Tayside (operational); Leith Community Treatment Centre, Lothian (operational); Stobhill and Victoria in Glasgow (planned), and Grampian (planned).

Health

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to fund centrally the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital, given that 50% of patients accessing health care at the hospital come from outside the Glasgow area.

Malcolm Chisholm: No.

Health

Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9238 by Mr Jim Wallace on 21 July 2004, what percentage of medical students who successfully complete their Pre-Registration House Officer post subsequently practice in a Scottish medical establishment, broken down by medical school of origin.

Malcolm Chisholm: The table provides details of the school of qualification of Pre-Registration House Officers (PRHO) employed in NHSScotland at the 30 September 2002, and of these, the number subsequently employed as senior house officers (SHO) in NHSScotland at the 30 September 2003.

  PRHOs in Post at 30 September 2002 in NHSScotland

  

School of Primary Medical Qualification
All Employed
(Headcount)
Subsequently Employed as SHO 30/09/03
% Subsequently Employed as SHO 30/09/03


Aberdeen
145
90
62%


Dundee
118
78
66%


Edinburgh
221
108
48%


Glasgow
261
205
78%


Subtotal
745
481
64%


UK Other
11
6
54%


Rest EEA
25
3
12%


Overseas
22
11
50%


Total
803
501
62%



  Source: ISD Scotland.

  Notes:

  1. Sourced from the Medical and Dental Workforce Census and the GMC register.

  2. Information is not available on the number of doctors successfully completing PRHO posts.

  3. Although St Andrews University offers medical courses, these provide pre-clinical qualifications only. The clinical component of medical courses undertaken by students at St Andrews is taken at the University of Manchester. For this reason St Andrews is not included in the table.

  Information is only available on those doctors who continue to work within NHSScotland. There are a number of different reasons for leaving between PRHO and SHO posts including career breaks, maternity leave, and taking up posts outwith Scotland either within the United Kingdom or overseas.

  The introduction of Foundation Programmes in August 2005 under Modernising Medical Careers should offer the opportunity to improve the quality of training and retention of doctors in training.

Health

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many babies have been hospitalised with whooping cough in each year since 1990; of these, how many have died as a result of this disease, and what age each baby was at the time of death.

Malcolm Chisholm: The available information is shown in the table:

  Table1. Number1,2 of Babies4 Hospitalised for Whooping Cough3, 1990-2003

  

 
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
20036


Babies
184
110
50
88
111
61
55
166
82
91
55
41
51
24


Deaths5
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0



  Notes:

  1. These statistics are derived from data collected on discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals (SMR01) in Scotland.

  2. The linked data set required for this analysis contain linked SMR01 and Registrar General's death records. All patient records including deaths for each patient are linked together using "probability matching". The "probability matching" algorithm uses all available identifying information (name, date of birth, postcode, hospital patient reference number etc.) to link the records.

  3. Up to six diagnoses (one principal, five secondary) are recorded on the SMR01 and up to four diagnosis (one principal, three secondary) are recorded on RG death records. All diagnostic positions were used for this analysis. The following codes were used from the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) to define whooping cough:

  ICD9 033

  ICD10 A37

  4. In this analysis, a baby is defined as any patient under the age of 12 months.

  5. Death figures relate to the number of babies hospitalised for whooping cough who subsequently died as a result of this condition.

  6. Data for the calendar year 2003 are considered to be provisional.

Health

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the number of deaths due to work-related accidents was per 100,000 head of population in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the number of deaths due to work-related accidents was in each year since 1999, calculated on the same basis as the World Health Organization’s European health for all database.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to question S2W-10305 answered on 22 September 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa .

Historic Buildings

Murray Tosh (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9567 by Mr Frank McAveety on 10 August 2004, when it expects to receive the report on Caisteal Tioram’s current structural condition and the statement of its cultural significance from Historic Scotland and whether it intends to publish both reports.

Mr Frank McAveety: I expect to receive the current structural condition report and the statement of cultural significance by the end of October. I will send a copy of these reports to the owner and to relevant stakeholder groups. I will also place copies in Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Historic Events

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to mark the 700th anniversary on 25 March 2006 of the inauguration of King Robert I.

Mr Frank McAveety: The Scottish Executive has no plans to commemorate the inauguration of King Robert I. However, I would wish to consider this significant anniversary in the context of those planned for 2005 and 2007. We are currently working with a range of partners including Stirling Council, VisitScotland and Historic Scotland etc to develop an appropriate programme of events to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the death of William Wallace which will fall in August 2005. We are also looking to replicate the scale and type of events for the Union of the Crowns Anniversary in 2003 for the Union of the Parliaments Anniversary which will fall in 2007.

Human Tissue Bill

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will exclude blood, urine and similar samples from the scope of the proposed Human Tissue Bill.

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider that samples that are required for quality assurance, teaching and research purposes under the proposed Human Tissue Bill have deemed consent.

Malcolm Chisholm: There has been debate on this issue during the consideration of the Human Tissue Bill by the UK Parliament. That bill does not generally extend to Scotland. I refer the member to question S2W-10133 answered on 4 October 2004 which gives details of our approach.

Human Tissue Bill

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to introduce legislation on human tissue, similar to the Human Tissue Bill in Westminster; what consultations it expects to undertake; who will be consulted, and when any consultations will take place.

Malcolm Chisholm: As announced by the First Minister on 7 September, we intend to introduce legislation on human organs and tissue during the course of this year.

  A consultation seeking views on proposals for new legislation on hospital post-mortem examinations took place between 24 November 2003 and 27 February 2004. A consultation on modernising the Anatomy Act 1984 took place between 28 January and 30 April 2004. A further consultation on new legislation relating to organ and tissue donation and transplantation took place between 18 March 2004 and 11 June 2004.

  A wide range of people and organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors were consulted. A detailed analysis of the responses to these consultations will be published in the near future.

Individual Learning Accounts

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will launch the Individual Learning Account scheme, announced by the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning on 27 January 2004.

Mr Jim Wallace: Ministers will decide shortly on the actual launch date for the new Individual Learning Account scheme, (ILA Scotland).

  Following a nationwide series of information seminars for learning providers held in May, over one hundred learning providers have applied to become registered ILA Scotland providers, of which the majority have now been approved. A number of courses have been accepted as ILA Scotland "eligible learning".

  In deciding on the appropriate timing for launching ILA Scotland, ministers will consider a number of factors, including readiness of the systems and processes for delivering the scheme, ensuring that there is a good range of courses on offer to potential ILA-funded learners, and being satisfied that the providers and intermediary bodies who will be crucial to the success of the scheme are well-prepared, so that the scheme is as effective as possible for its target audience.

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is in respect of fiscal fines and whether it intends to review the policy.

Cathy Jamieson: The use of fiscal fines is a valuable and effective alternative to prosecution in less serious cases that would otherwise result in prosecution in the district courts.

  The McInnes Report made a number of recommendations in relation to improving the use of fiscal fines. Consultation on the McInnes recommendations has now closed. We are currently analysing responses with a view to introducing reforms to deliver smarter, speedier justice for less serious offences as part of the wider criminal justice reform agenda.

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children under 16 have been prosecuted in (a) sheriff courts and (b) the high court in each year since 1999, broken down into (i) solemn and (ii) summary proceedings.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following table:

  Persons Aged Under 16 Proceeded Against in Sheriff Courts and the High Court, 1999-2002

  

 Court type
1999
2000
2001
2002


High Court1
9
19
8
11


Sheriff Solemn 
17
16
27
27


Sheriff Summary
74
50
64
98


Total
100
85
99
136



  Note: 1. Figure for 2002 may be an underestimate due to time taken to record details of some court proceedings in SCRO system.

Justice

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-10095 by Cathy Jamieson on 17 September 2004, what steps it will take to give the reasons why cases reported to the procurators fiscal do not proceed and, in particular, the reasons for cases not proceeding in those sheriff courts where the percentage is higher than the Scottish average.

Colin Boyd QC: 13% of all cases received by procurators fiscal were marked "no proceedings" between April 2003 and March 2004. 64% of the cases marked "no proceedings" were marked in this way because:

  there was insufficient admissible evidence (24% of the cases marked "no proceedings");

  the suspected offence was trivial (27% of the cases marked "no proceedings"), or

  there was a delay in reporting the case by the police or other reporting agency (14% of the cases marked "no proceedings").

  Twenty procurator fiscal’s offices marked more than 13% of their cases "no proceedings" during this time. In total, these offices marked 18% of cases "no proceedings". 61% of the cases marked "no proceedings" were marked in this way because:

  there was insufficient admissible evidence (24% of the cases marked "no proceedings");

  the suspected offence was trivial (25% of the cases marked "no proceedings"), or

  there was a delay in reporting the cases by the police or other reporting agency (12% of the cases marked "no proceedings").

  These figures show that the 20 procurator fiscal’s offices were applying the same consistent marking standards to cases as other offices. Any variations in the number of cases marked "no proceedings" reflect the variation in the pattern of offending in different parts of the country and differences in the way in which police forces report very minor offences.

  There is continuing and very close co-operation between Area Procurators Fiscal and Chief Constables to ensure that very minor offences or unsuitable cases are not reported unnecessarily.

Justice

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) budget and (b) expenditure was of the (i) Criminal Confiscation Unit and (ii) Civil Recovery Unit in (1) 2002-03 and (2) 2003-04 and what the figures are for 2004-05 to date.

Colin Boyd QC: The Criminal Confiscation Unit was established in January 2003. Its direct costs, which includes staff costs and case-related expenditure, in 2002-03 were £90,930 and in 2003-04 £559,196.

  In June 2004 the Financial Crime Unit was established by combining the Criminal Confiscation Unit with the financial crime elements of the International and Financial Crime Unit. The Financial Crime Unit investigates serious fraud and money laundering cases as well as raising confiscation proceedings. The direct costs of the Financial Crime Unit so far in 2004-05 (end July figures) are £462,395.

  The Civil Recovery Unit was established in January 2003. Its direct costs in 2002-03 were £50,320 and in 2003-04 £525,901. The direct costs of the Civil Recovery Unit so far in 2004-05 (end July figures) are £161,555.

Legal Aid

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the administration costs of the Scottish Legal Aid Board have been in each year since 1990, shown also as a percentage of total costs in each year.

Cathy Jamieson: The information requested is given in the annual report of the Scottish Legal Aid Board for each year since 1990. Copies of these have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 24448).

Legal Aid

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been paid to solicitors in fees for civil cases in each year since 1990.

Cathy Jamieson: The information requested is given in the annual report of the Scottish Legal Aid Board for each year since 1990. Copies of these have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 24448).

Ministerial Visits

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times each minister has travelled overseas on official duties since being appointed, detailing the destination and date of each visit.

Mr Andy Kerr: For the period 1 July 1999 to 31 March 2004, I refer the member to the answers given to S1W-29052, S2W-2904 and S2W-9345 answered on 9 September 2002, 25 September 2003 and 25 June 2004 respectively. Information for the current financial year will be published before the summer recess in 2005.

NHS Hospitals

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have been referred to the Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital since 1999, broken down by NHS board area that made the referral.

Malcolm Chisholm: This is a matter for NHS Greater Glasgow. This information is not held centrally.

NHS Hospitals

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated by each NHS board to Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital since 1999 for treatment received at the hospital.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-8664 answered on 15 June 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa .

NHS Staff

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what language knowledge it accepts as a minimum standard for EU-qualified medical personnel for the purpose of patient safety.

Malcolm Chisholm: Under European Union legislation on freedom of movement, doctors, dentists, nurses responsible for general care, pharmacists and midwives who are European Economic Association (EEA) nationals are entitled to automatic recognition. The freedom of movement laws prevent health regulatory bodies (for example, the General Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council) from language testing EEA nationals. However, employers are responsible for ensuring that the staff they employ have the competence and linguistic ability to carry out their duties of care.

NHS Staff

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS doctors were employed in (a) each NHS board area and (b) total in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on NHS staff employed by each NHS organisation is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce . Section A provides information on NHS hospital and community doctors broken down by NHS board. Table A1 provides information on all staff by Whole-Time Equivalent and Table A2 by Headcount.

NHS Staff

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how "fresh talent" can be encouraged to work in the NHS in Scotland when trained doctors from other European Union countries may not be aware of NHS protocols and administrative requirements.

Mr Andy Kerr: Any doctor undertaking work in Scotland, or the rest of the United Kingdom, must be registered with the General Medical Council. Information on registration and employment requirements is made available to interested doctors from the EU. It is an essential component of the recruitment process by NHS Scotland boards to ensure that EU doctors have a full and complete induction process which would embrace NHS protocols and administrative requirements. The Scottish Executive is currently reviewing procedures for recruiting doctors from the EU and will be advising NHS Scotland accordingly. Various initiatives being undertaken under our fresh talent policy to encourage people from outside Scotland to come here to live, work and study, such as our Relocation Advisory Service to be launched in October, could potentially help doctors from other EU countries interested in moving to Scotland.

NHS Waiting Times

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average number of days is that a patient waits between requesting an appointment and seeing a GP, broken down by (a) GP practice and (b) NHS board.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-8036 answered on 18 May 2004.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

New Futures Fund

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will fill the funding gap when the New Futures Fund ends in March 2005.

Lewis Macdonald: Since inception, the New Futures Fund (NFF) has aimed to develop new ways of working with those furthest from the labour market with a view to building successful aspects into mainstream services. Scottish Enterprise (SEn), which manages NFF, is now pursuing "mainstreaming" with a range of agencies, and is working with individual projects to explore alternative funding sources.

  The needs of those furthest from the labour market remain a key issue for the Cabinet Delivery Group on Closing the Opportunity Gap, chaired by the Minister for Communities.

Nursing

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS nurses were employed in (a) each NHS board area and (b) total in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on NHS staff employed by each NHS organisation is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce . Section A provides information on NHS nursing and midwifery staff broken down by NHS board. Table A1 provides information on all staff by Whole-Time Equivalent and Table A2 by Headcount.

Nutrition

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many grams of fat are eaten by the average child daily.

Mr Tom McCabe: Data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey of Children and Young People Aged four to 18 years in Great Britain (Gregory et al, 2000), showed that the reported mean daily intake of total fat was 74.1grams for boys and 63.1grams for girls. Boys derived a mean of 35.4% of their food energy from fat and girls 35.9%. Although the sampling frame for this survey included participants from Scotland to ensure that data was representative of Great Britain, the numbers are too small for the survey to be truly representative of children and young people in Scotland.

Nutrition

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many grams of fat are recommended to be eaten by the average child daily.

Mr Tom McCabe: The dietary reference value (DRV) for total dietary fat intake is expressed as a percentage of dietary energy and not directly as grams, and is set at 35% of food energy.

  Using estimated average energy requirements the DRV can be converted to grams of total fat per day. For example, for a four to six-year-old girl, with an average energy requirement of 6.46MJ/day this equates to 58g total fat per day. For a 15 to 18-year-old boy with an average energy requirement of 11.51MJ/day this equates to 103g total fat per day.

Nutrition

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many grams of fat are eaten by the average adult daily.

Mr Tom McCabe: Data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey of Adults aged 19 to 65 years in Great Britain (Henderson et al, 2003), showed that the reported mean daily intake of total fat was 86.5 grams for men and 61.4 grams for women. Men derived a mean of 35.8% of their food energy from fat and women 34.9%. Although the sampling frame for this survey included participants from Scotland to ensure that data was representative of Great Britain, the numbers are too small for the survey to be truly representative of the Scottish adult population.

Nutrition

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many grams of fat are recommended to be eaten by the average adult daily.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Dietary Reference Value (DRV) for total dietary fat intake is expressed as a percentage of dietary energy and not directly as grams, and is set at 35% of food energy.

  Using estimated average energy requirements of 10.6MJ/day for a 74kg man (aged 19 to 50) and 8.1 MJ/day for a 60kg woman (aged 19 to 50), this equates to 95g and 73g total fat per day respectively.

Prison Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has regarding HM Prison Low Moss and what the timescale is for implementing them.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Subject to planning permission being gained, the Scottish Prison Service plans to establish a new prison on the site of HM Prison Low Moss. The timescale will be determined by the planning process, which is currently underway, and by the subsequent procurement process.

Prison Service

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive who the employer will be of the controller of the proposed new private prison.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Prison Service.

Public Bodies

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any representations to Partnerships UK to move its office to Scotland.

Mr Andy Kerr: Partnerships UK (PUK) has always had a team based in Scotland, headed up by the Director Scotland. One member of the team will shortly be seconded to the Executive’s Financial Partnerships Unit. The Scottish team is able to call on all of PUK expertise. It is important for the Executive to have access to the full range of PUK’s expertise so that all partnership developments occurring in the UK can be shared.

Rail Network

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9829 by Nicol Stephen on 12 August 2004, what information it has regarding what regular safety checks are made on the structure of the Tay Rail Bridge and how often such checks are made.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive does not keep this information as this is an operational matter for Network Rail.

Research

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the increase in business research and development expenditure and overall level of research and development expenditure referred to in its report, Business Enterprise Research and Development in Scotland 2002 , related to (a) environment technologies and (b) general energy research.

Mr Jim Wallace: Research and Development statistics for environmental technologies and general energy research for Scotland are not available from this survey. Table 2 of the report Business Enterprise Research and Development in Scotland 200 2 contains the most detailed breakdown of expenditure available. The data can be accessed on the Scottish Executive website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/enterprise/berd02-14.asp.

School Transport

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to change the criteria for children to receive free bus transport to school.

Peter Peacock: It is for education authorities to make such arrangements as they consider necessary for the provision of school transport, including determining the criteria for eligibility for free school transport. The Executive has no plans to amend the relevant provisions of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980.

Scottish Executive Staff

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the ethnic mix of its staff has been in each year since 1999, broken down by staff grade and expressed also in percentage terms.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Executive’s Diversity Strategy, launched in November 2000, set demanding targets for the recruitment of under-represented groups, including staff from a minority ethnic background. Progress towards these targets is set out in the table.

  Scottish Executive Permanent Staff, Percentage and Numbers of Staff from a Minority Ethnic Background April 1999 to April 2004

  

 
April 1999
April 2000
April 2001
April 2002
April 2003
April 2004
April 2005
Target **


SCS
*
*
*
*
*
*
1.7%


Band C
*
*
0.9% (7)
1.6% (13)
1.2% (11)
2.1% (21)
1.7%


Band B
0.4% (9)
0.4% (9)
0.4% (12)
1.5% (45)
0.9% (30)
1.4% (49)
1.7%


Band A
0.6% (16)
0.6% (16)
0.6% (18)
1.4% (40)
1.2% (35)
1.6% (45)
1.7%



  Notes:

  *Figures marked with an asterisk cannot be published separately to preserve confidentiality.

  **As published in the Scottish Executive Diversity Strategy (November 2000).

Scottish Executive Staff

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the ethnic mix of applicants for vacancies in the Executive has been in each year since 1999, broken down by grade and expressed also in percentage terms.

Mr Andy Kerr: The table below sets out the ethnic mix of applicants for vacancies in the Executive in each year since 1999, broken down by grade and expressed also in percentage terms.

  

 
Total Applications Received
Applications received from Minority Ethnic Candidates


Year/Grade
 
 


1999
 
 


Band A
3,569
56


 
 
1.60%


Band B
5,796
120


 
 
2.10%


Band C
1,081
18


 
 
1.70%


SCS
179
5


 
 
2.8%


2000
 
 


Band A
3,084
35


 
 
1.10%


Band B
3,109
119


 
 
3.80%


Band C
1,397
34


 
 
2.40%


SCS
519
0


 
 
0.00%


2001
 
 


Band A
3,650
78


 
 
2.10%


Band B
4,810
175


 
 
3.60%


Band C
786
18


 
 
2.30%


SCS
148
*


 
 
*


2002
 
 


Band A
496
8


 
 
1.60%


Band B
530
33


 
 
6.20%


Band C
1,600
29


 
 
1.80%


SCS
118
*


 
 
*


2003
 
 


Band A
848
21


 
 
2.50%


Band B
2,732
124


 
 
4.50%


Band C
1,224
26


 
 
0.90%


SCS
175
6


 
 
3.43%


2004
 
 


Band A
81
*


 
 
*


Band B
737
32


 
 
4.34%


Band C
75
*


 
 
*


SCS
860
16


 
 
1.86%



  Notes: *Figures marked with an asterisk cannot be published separately to preserve confidentiality.

Scottish Executive Staff

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people with a registered disability have applied for vacancies in the Executive in each year since 1999, broken down by grade and expressed also as a percentage of the total number of applicants.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) repealed parts of the Disabled Persons (employment) Act (NI) 1945. This means that there is no longer a register of disabled people.

  The Scottish Executive asks applicants to self-declare whether they have a disability and this information is recorded. The table below sets out the number of applicants applying for vacancies in the Scottish Executive since 1999 who have self-declared a disability, broken down by grade and also expressed as a percentage of the total number of applicants.

  

 
Year/Grade
Applications


Total Applications Received
Applicants Self-Declaring a Disability


1999
 
 


Band A
3,569
139


 
 
3.90%


Band B
5,796
95


 
 
1.60%


Band C
1,081
12


 
 
1.10%


SCS
179
0


 
 
0.00%


2000
 
 


Band A
3,084
156


 
 
5.10%


Band B
3,109
53


 
 
1.70%


Band C
1,397
23


 
 
1.60%


SCS
519
0


 
 
0.00%


2001
 
 


Band A
3,650
176


  
 
4.80%


Band B
4,810
87


 
 
1.80%


Band C
786
9


  
 
1.10%


SCS
148
*


 
 
*


2002
 
 


Band A
496
21


  
 
4.20%


Band B
530
14


 
 
2.60%


Band C
1,600
20


 
 
1.30%


SCS
118
0


 
 
0.00%


2003
 
 


Band A
848
58


 
 
6.80%


Band B
2,732
74


 
 
2.70%


Band C
1,224
33


 
 
1.20%


SCS
175
0


 
 
0.00%


2004
 
 


Band A
81
6


 
 
7.41%


Band B
737
30


 
 
4.07%


Band C
75
0


  
 
0.00%


SCS
860
5


 
 
0.58%



  Notes: *Figures marked with an asterisk cannot be published separately to preserve confidentiality.

Scottish Water

Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether PFI or PPP projects involving Scottish Water or its subsidiaries required the provision of information about projected domestic and non-domestic water and/or sewerage charges to banks and private companies or consortia.

Ross Finnie: Since its inception, Scottish Water has not entered into any PFI or PPP contracts.

Sexual Abuse

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring of the STOP programme is being carried out and by whom; when its results will be published, and to whom they will be made available.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  An evaluation of the STOP programme, which was accredited by a Panel of independent experts in September 2001, is currently being undertaken by Analytical Services of the Scottish Prison Service. The results will be available in 2005 and will be published as part of the SPS Occasional Paper Series, copies of which are lodged in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Social Work

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it offers to non-social work qualified social care staff.

Euan Robson: The Scottish Executive is working closely with employers, the Scottish Social Services Council and others to ensure we have a competent and confident workforce.

  A fast track scheme has been introduced which will enable 450 non-social work graduates to be qualified in less than two years, half the time it usually takes to complete a social work degree.

  £3 million has been made available over three financial years to voluntary organisations which offer care services to train their staff. An additional £9 million has also been made available over three financial years to local authorities for additional investment in training.

Student Finance

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average student debt in Scotland has been in each of the last five years.

Mr Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answers to S2W-8222 answered on 9 June 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa .

Teachers

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers were employed in each local authority area in each of the last five years, giving the percentage change on a year-on-year basis.

Peter Peacock: Information on how many teachers were employed in each local authority area in each of the last five years can be obtained from the Teacher Census Results 2003 and can be accessed using the following hyperlink:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00352-00.asp.

Telecommunications

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had, and with whom, regarding the removal of public telephone boxes in rural and suburban areas.

Jim Wallace: I refer the member to question S2W-10710 answered on 29 September 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Parliamentary Accommodation

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what insurance protection is in place for the personal property of those employed to work at Holyrood.

Duncan McNeil (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body): The SPCB does not maintain insurance for this matter.